Burn
by ClaineDeLine
Summary: '...If she had to choose anyone in the world that annoyed her the most, it would have to be him.' ZoNick.


**Title-** 'Burn'

**Rating-** T. Language and mild hot stuff.  
**I don't like using swear words in my stories at all, but I have to do it in this one in order to keep the characters realistic.  
**…I actually dislike cursing. ;;

**Author's Notes-** Sort of a crack pairing I guess.  
I think Nick will basically go for any woman that is remotely attractive. Their fighting is pretty amusing too.

I don't know. It's just a pretty sexy couple if you ask me lol.  
…Although I prefer ZoEllis MUCH more.

Oh yes, and this takes places after Left 4 Dead 2.

Zoey is 21.  
Nick is 35.

**Left 4 Dead © Valve.  
Story belongs to me. Claine.**

**000**

If she had to choose anyone in the world that annoyed her the most, it would have to be _him._

_No._ She did not even want to say his name.  
Just the mere _thought_ of his name made her teeth gnash.

"Nick…"

_Mercy,_ it was like acid on her tongue.

The brunette grimaced as she watched the conniving schmuck rummage through his suit pocket for his wallet.

"_Please,_ don't tell me you forgot your money…"

The older man sneered, pulling the leather wallet from his pocket and waving it in her face.  
"See sweetheart? …All under control."

Oh, she wanted to punch him _so badly._

Zoey had no clue why on earth she had decided to go shopping with him…  
…but she had.

Once he had paid for the groceries, they took the bags and headed out the doors into the cool, misty weather.

The bags weighed heavy on her freezing, chapped hands.  
She glanced at Nick briefly, her eyebrows knitting together as she saw the meager two bags he was carrying.  
"…Don't strain yourself there, old man."

The con man laughed; a very dry, vitriolic sound.

"I am many things Zo, but old…is not one of them."  
She rolled her eyes.  
"Then why don't you help me out?"

With a purposely heavy sigh, he took a few bags from her hands, reducing the pain in her cold fingers.  
He glanced at her with a smirk. "That better, princess?"  
Zoey bit down into her bottom lip, thankful that the grocery bags were keeping her fists preoccupied.  
"Yeah…" she mumbled quietly.

They continued their walk towards her apartment silently, the cold rain matting her dark brown locks.  
She pushed her bangs out of her eyes, regretting that she had not brought a hair tie with her.

Her fingers curled tighter around the grocery bags as she felt Nick's arm brush up against hers.  
She caught his gaze out of the corner of her eye, just in time to see him flash a toothy grin.

Bile rose in her throat.

Whenever they went out in public together, people would always question their relationship.  
She did not know what compelled people to think of such a ridiculous thought.  
She knew she showed no sign of attraction towards him at all, but Nick however, could be rather…_flirtatious._

_'Oh, you two make such a good-looking couple!'  
_  
It made her _sick.  
_…Embarrassed…

Honestly, it made her a bit self-conscious too.  
Nick did not exactly have the best _reputation,_ not the mention he was quite a few years older than she was.  
She could almost feel the accusing eyes of other women on her.  
She shoved the thoughts away as she jammed her key into the lock of the apartment door, eager to get away from the freezing weather…and him.

Once inside, she slid the bags onto the kitchen countertop and began putting the food away in their respective places.  
The con man, however, made himself comfortable on her living room sofa, kicking his feet up onto the wooden table in front of him.

Zoey's anger bubbled hot inside of her belly.

"Hey cupcake, you mind tossing me my cigarettes?" he asked over his shoulder, his tone holding a bit of playfulness in it.  
Cold and pissed off, the petite brunette shoved her hand inside one of the grocery bags.

She figured arguing with him would be futile.

After a few minutes of irritated searching, she found the box of nicotine sticks and chucked it at him from across the room with little gentleness in mind.

The box hit him square in the shoulder, bouncing off of him and onto the carpet.  
He scowled darkly for a moment.  
"…Thanks a lot," he mumbled with dripping sarcasm.  
After picking up the box, he pinched one of the cigarettes between his fingers, eagerly pulling it out along with the small lighter in his pants pocket.

The young woman clicked her lips. "You _aren't _doing that in my living room."  
Nick twisted his upper body so that he was facing in her direction, a single eyebrow raised.  
"Well, I'm not going outside in that shit-weather to smoke."  
Trying to maintain her calm attitude, she ran her fingers through her damp hair, pulling her stare away from the older man.

"…Well then, I guess you won't be smoking."

He chuckled low in his throat, his thumb playing with the spark wheel of the lighter.  
"I'm sorry, but…are you trying to tell me what to do?"  
Zoey kept her back to him, her hands busily placing the bags of vegetables in the refrigerator.  
After she had silently put the food away, she began walking towards his spot on the sofa.

"_Yeah_," she hissed, her palms turning upwards in front of her, "…This is _my_ apartment."  
She could see the corner of his mouth twitch, every ounce of him trying not to grin.

She was going to _lose _it.

"Aww, you must feel so proud of yourself sweetie," he mocked, putting the full box of cigarettes beside him on the cushions.

A hot, long-held breath escaped her lips.

"You know? I don't even know _why_ the hell you're even _here."_  
The volume of her voice went up significantly at the end of her sentence as she tossed her hands into the air.  
"…If it weren't for Ellis, you wouldn't even _be _here right now…!"  
She was right.

In a strange twist of fate, Nick had been passing through the area right at the time Ellis had been visiting Zoey.  
And somehow, one way or another, Nick had ended up crashing at her place…on her sofa.

Her apartment was cheaper than a hotel, he tried to convince her.

The survivors were not strangers to each other; they had been placed in the same military rescue facility at the end of the incident.

However, this was not what Zoey needed…or wanted for that matter.

Once he knew she had stopped talking, the con man simply shrugged, his lips curved into a snarky, but somewhat charming smile.  
Their eyes locked briefly before the brunette woman tore her gaze away from him.  
With her rage nearly full-blown, she shoved her hands in her jean pockets.

She kept her grey eyes on the ceiling, counting all the little speckles in the paint.

She did not look back at him until the smell of smoke filled her nostrils.

With hell-fire in her eyes, she turned her attention towards him, finding a lit cigarette between his lips.  
He met her stare, his ocean-coloured eyes staying glued on her own as he exhaled a long string of smoke.  
His expression was seemingly blank, but she could see the challenging spark behind his orbs and the twitch of the smirk in the corner of his mouth.

Her grey eyes narrowed threateningly.

"Put that out…_now."_  
Nick held the cigarette away from his mouth between his fingers, his dark eyebrow rising slightly.  
The putrid smell of the smoke filled Zoey's senses, making her stomach twist.  
He shifted in his seat, "…Or what?" His voice was surprisingly low and soft, and she almost did not hear him.  
He eyes dodged about his form quickly, her glare burning deep into his face.

She was silent.

A deep chuckle vibrated in his throat, sending a chill up her spine.  
"I don't think you know what you're up against here, princess."  
Zoey swallowed hard.  
A slow and sleazy grin spread across his lips as he took another drag from his cigarette.  
"What are you going to do to me?"

Her heart drummed in her chest, her eyes so narrow they were nearly closed.

"Shut your _damn _mouth…" she spat, her voice just above a harsh whisper.  
His ocean eyes burned holes into her. He matched her dark glare.  
"Excuse me?"  
The young woman moved closer to him, her head tilting slightly as she bent down in his face.  
The smoke from the cigarette was nearly unbearable as she gritted her teeth behind her tight lips.

"You heard me."

Nick's facial features hardened intensely at her words, his neck craning so their noses were mere inches away.  
Normally, she would have been flustered by their closeness, but she her mind was gone; fogged by the burning rage in her chest.  
He barred his teeth.  
"You'd better learn some manners…"

Zoey laughed loudly, the sound dark and shrill.

"_You_ are talking to _me_ about manners?!" She could feel the hold on her temper slowly slipping away.  
She watched the scar on his forehead move as he relaxed his facial features.  
"I'm not the one screaming in someone's _face,_" he sneered smartly, the tip of his nose brushing against hers for a brief second.  
The white-hot blood in her body rushed to her cheeks.  
She felt something cold and rough on the side of her face, sending another wave of chills down her back.

Nick ghosted his fingertips lightly across her cheek, feeling the soft skin of her face.

Zoey froze.

He chuckled.

"What's the matter cupcake…?"  
His voice was deep and husky, his hot breath warming her cool, rosey lips.  
"…You scared?"  
Her breath caught in her throat as he dragged his hand down the side of her neck, his light touch tickling the sensitive flesh.  
In a fit of fury, she raised her hand above her head and slapped him with every ounce of strength in her body.

A loud smack echoed across the room as her palm made contact with his face.

The con man immediately retracted his arm, flinching back as he held the spot she had hit.  
For a moment, he just sat there, surprised on how _hard_ she had actually hit him.  
…Surprised that she had _actually_ slapped him in the face.

_Feisty little shrew._

Before he could retaliate, she walked off into the kitchen without a single word.  
He smirked darkly.

_So that's how you want to play, huh?_

He felt the side of his face sting as he lifted himself up from the sofa and began to make his way towards the petite brunette.  
Zoey did not notice his presence until he was directly behind her.  
"Don't you _dare_ touch me again."  
Her tone was threatening and he knew she was not kidding…

…but he did not really care.

"…You sure are a little _firecracker_, aren't you there, Zo?"  
She turned around quickly, her dark hair flipping into her face.  
"I said don't touch me!" Her voice was almost at a scream now.  
She watched in anger as he tossed his cigarette in the kitchen sink, that same, stupid, sleazy smirk plastered on his face.

Suddenly, she found herself against the wall.

She tried to slap him again but realized that her wrists had been pinned to the wall by his hands.

The young woman gasped, her eyes wide.  
Nick grinned, and her rage exploded.

Zoey did not even have time to scream or struggle before his lips crashed down onto her own.

His lips were hard and moist against hers, making her whimper as he tilted his head to gain better access to her mouth.  
Every bit of anger and irritation they had with each other was poured into the kiss.

It was frantic…demanding…_rough_.

She tore away from him to gasp for air, her dark locks tangled and disheveled by her cheeks.  
Before she could speak, he placed his lips at her neck, his teeth grazing over the sensitive skin.  
His hands were thick and calloused, his fingers squeezing tightly onto her wrists to keep her in place.

The petite woman moaned, the sound breaking into a weak cry at the end as he nipped at her throat.  
She felt the sharp end of his canines scrape against her jugular vein, causing her to whine softly in pain.

Nick had no intention of being gentle with her, his tightly gripped hands sliding down to her biceps, his hip pressing into her own.  
Zoey finally opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately silenced by his mouth.

In horror, she found herself returning the fiery kiss with equal, if not greater fervor.

Their tongues battled vehemently, their teeth clashed and their breath intermingled.

She convinced herself that it was for defense only, but her body was saying otherwise.  
A hot, insatiable feeling churned in the center of her stomach as his hands roamed about her torso, touching every part of her that he could reach.  
He had long let go of her wrists, her arms remaining against the wall.

She could have easily pulled away…she could have easily escaped…she could have easily shoved him or slapped him…

…but she did not.

Nick's hands caught the zipper of her jacket, tugging it down frantically to expose the damp cotton tank top underneath.  
The young woman felt his knee dig into the top of her thigh as he buried his face in the curve of her bare neck, his breath fire on her skin.  
His hands generously cupped her hips.  
When he did not continue, a low, exasperated sound vibrated in her throat. She could feel his lips curve into a grin against her flesh.

"You're _so_ damn needy."  
His tone was dark but smooth, making her stomach do a small flip.  
"…Just like every other woman."

Zoey sucked in a breath, her dark eyebrows narrowing.  
"Go…to hell…" Her voice was gravely, and she barely recognized it.

He laughed.

"You know, you're the most _stubborn _and _irritating_ woman I have ever met."  
His fingers dug further into her hips. She sneered.  
"…Good."

After she said that, he bent over and began to kiss down the front of her chest, making her break out in a soft cry.  
His stubble scratched roughly at her skin as he made his way down her torso. She squirmed in his grasp.  
"Pretty sensitive, aren't you cupcake?"

She bit into her bottom lip as she felt his hands squeeze her backside.  
"…Obviously a sweet, little virgin."  
He sneered.  
"How _cute_."

A crimson blush rose to her cheeks.

"_Stop it_." She hissed quietly, his fingers praising the soft, round curve of her bottom.  
He slid his tongue slowly across the hem of her tank top, silencing her at once.  
He raised his head slightly so that their eyes could meet, his gaze making her heart pound against her chest.

"I don't think you _really_ want me to stop."

Zoey swallowed hard, tasting something bitter in her mouth as she pulled her stare away from him.  
"I hate you." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Nick cocked a brow as he leaned in closer to her face. "What was that?"  
With a loud huff, she turned her attention back towards him, her dark hair falling into her eyes.  
She hissed through gritted teeth. "_I hate you!_"

His clicked his lips.  
"Oh really? You hate me?"

She _despised _the tone of his voice…with that stupid wise guy accent.

"Zoey _hates_ me."  
He was mocking her.

"…Is that why you're letting me be all over you?"

Her blood boiled hot inside of her. She opened her mouth to yell at him, but realized in horror that she had no comeback.  
Her brain screamed at her. She could not let him win, but he had…

…and he knew it.

She watched his lips twist into a devilish smirk.

He _was_ the devil.

"Oh, this is going to break Ellis' heart."  
A shot of guilt struck her heart at the mention of the young southerner.  
"…Thought you liked him, hm? He leaned close to her ear, allowing his lips to brush against the cartilage.  
She shuddered weakly. "I do like him."

A breathy, sarcastic chuckle caressed the side of her face. He shook his head.  
"You like Ellis?" She felt his hot, steady breath inside of her ear, making chills run down her spine.  
His tongue flicked out around the shell of her ear. His voice was like velvet.

"…So why are you here with me?"

Zoey was silent.

Nick moved so that he was directly facing her.  
She did not meet his stare.

Carefully, he pressed the tip of his nose to hers, his gaze staying locked on her averted eyes.

"I think you hate me less than you think you do."  
She had never heard his voice come out that softly before.

The petite brunette twisted her body violently and ripped out of his grasp, her eyes squeezed shut in her rage.  
She pointed her index finger at him.  
"Stay away from me, got it?"

The con man held up his hands defensively as he backed away from the young woman.  
"Hey, no promises cupcake," he said, adjusting his jacket before walking over to the front door.  
She wrinkled her nose.  
"Where the hell are you going?"

Before Nick opened the door, he walked back over to the sofa to reclaim his box of cigarettes.  
He glanced briefly at her before placing a fresh nicotine stick between his fingers.  
"I need a drink. You and your damn womanly emotions give me a headache."

Zoey rolled her eyes, moving so that she was blocking his path.  
She crossed her arms and scrunched her forehead, looking up at the suited man with narrow, grey eyes.

He raised a brow at her.

"…There a problem, _honey bunch_?"  
She grimaced at his term of endearment.

"You have your money? You remember last time…I had to bail your sorry ass out."  
Nick rubbed his face with his hand, an exasperated chuckle leaving his lips as he pushed past the little woman.

"That was _one time_…" he glanced back at her with a smirk, "…And yes. I have my money."

For the first time that day, Zoey relaxed a bit, her arms uncrossing and falling loosely by her sides.  
She cocked her hip, and she saw his eyes quickly glance downwards at her shapely legs.

_Did he ever mention that she looked sexy in those jeans?_

"Good," she said as she turned her back towards him.

Before she could walk away, she felt his hand at her backside, giving the round flesh a generous squeeze.  
She yelped, spinning around so she could deck him in the face.

However, she was too slow, the sound of his laughter growing quieter as he walked out the front door.


End file.
